Alexander Semin signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, and early indications out of Raleigh are that something a little more long-term could be in his future.

Not bad for a guy who lasted nearly a month on the market and was the target of a bizarrely personal, nationally televised character attack.

Alexander Semin is playing more than any other Hurricanes forward. (AP Photo)

Semin has a goal and six assists so far for Carolina and generally been the best version of himself—he's driving possession, showing defensive responsibility and logging huge minutes (21:39 per game, more than any other Hurricanes forward).

"Boy, he’s been a very good player for us," GM Jim Rutherford told CBC.ca. "He could have five, six goals by now, he’s hit so many goal posts. But it’s not even the fact he has one goal. He’s played the game at both ends of the rink. Players have to focus on him all the time."

In his last two seasons with the Washington Capitals, Semin, a former 40-goal scorer, saw his role diminish significantly. Some of that was his fault, and some wasn't—and his reputation took an unreasonable hit in the process. Example A: On July 1, Canadian TV network TSN took a break from actually covering the first day of free agency for a 90-second hit job. The phrases "Island of Misfit Toys," "no character," "complete loser" and "coach killer" were thrown out by Marc Crawford and Pierre McGuire. It was, in a word, weird.

Now, other teams' reticence to sign Semin to a long-term deal is Carolina's gain—with assists from Crawford, McGuire and any other North American analyst who has trouble thinking of adjectives for Russian players beyond "enigmatic."

Semin, 28, has done it all despite some seriously bad luck: He's shooting less than 3 percent, a number that should (at least) quadruple, particularly considering his team-high 35 shots. He also has helped center Eric Staal get off to a fast start. After totaling 12 points in his first 26 games in 2011-12, Staal has seven goals and three assists in just eight games so far in 2013.

"(Opponents are) watching Semin, which opens (the ice) up a little more for Eric. He’s such a talented player, he can do whatever he wants, quite frankly," Rutherford said. "If he’s determined to score a goal, he’s gonna get his chances. If he’s going to play a two-way game, he can play it. He can kill penalties, play the power play. He’s been every bit as good as I hoped he’d be."

Carolina is 4-4-0, good for second place in the Southeast Division. They next play Thursday against the Ottawa Senators.